ALBANY — A tax assessor denied entry into the Westchester home Gov. Cuomo shares with Food Network host Sandra Lee says he might have increased the value even higher than he did if he was allowed inside.

Assessor Phil Platz told The Post he was twice denied entry into the New Castle house last month, once by an attorney who gave permission for an exterior survey only and again by a state trooper posted at the property.

“It’s possible [the assessment] could have been higher if I saw the inside,” Platz said.

Lee bought the home for $1.2 million in 2009 and is paying $28,312 in taxes.

Under the higher assessment — which can still be challenged — she would owe an extra $8,210.

New Castle doesn’t assess homes at 100 percent of market value.

Although the home is in Lee’s name, Cuomo has said that he pays his share of the taxes.

Platz said he was alerted that the home had undergone renovations by seeing stories in national publications about the improvements and from tips from neighbors.

Initially, Lee did not secure permits for the work.

In May, after it was made public that she had sidestepped the process, Lee applied retroactively for a permit.

Cuomo’s office declined to comment and instead provided a letter from the town suggesting that New Castle residents could bar assessors from their homes.

“…If we are unable to conduct an interior inspection, we would request your permission to do an exterior inspection…” the letter stated.

Platz confirmed an interior survey is not mandated under town law.

But he said a home’s value may be inaccurate without one.

A 2010 USA Today article,featuring Lee’s home mentioned the renovations.

“Lee just got through a one-year remodel of the 1950s white clapboard colonial,” the paper stated. “She joined two smaller, darker spaces and installed a wall of windows to create one big, bright living room.”

Late Friday, Cuomo’s campaign issued a statement charging the property tax fuss was driven by Rob Astorino, his Republican opponent who is also the Westchester county executive.

“Welcome to election year politics in a Republican town in a Republican county run by a county executive who is notorious for playing little political games,” said Cuomo campaign spokesman Peter Kauffmann.